


What he wasn't told (until later)

by KeJae



Category: Chuck (TV), White Collar
Genre: Gen, Mention of rape and child harm in nonexplicit details
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-26
Updated: 2015-06-14
Packaged: 2018-03-25 19:41:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3822451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KeJae/pseuds/KeJae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if the story that Ellen told Neal wasn’t entirely true, and what if later Neal learned that the hard way?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Back Story

*******

All my life I had two perspectives.

The first one that I knew was Danny Brooks of St Louis who lived with his mother and had his aunt Ellen nearby.

When I turned eighteen I learned the second. I was Neal Bennett, the son of James Bennett.

Eventually, I learned the truth.

*******

My mother had been a rape victim who testified against the man who had victimized her. He came from a powerful background that he felt empowered him to threaten her into renouncing her testimony. In response, she was put into wit-sec and hidden away from his reach.

A few months after entering the system she delivered my twin brother and I. Being a young, single mother who had just experienced her entire life being turned upside down, she decided not to keep both of us. By chance, I was the one she kept. Jack was put up for adoption and we were moved to a new location in the wit-sec system.

Soon after, mom met and married a man named James Bennett. He seemed to be good for us as he loved her and accepted me as though I were his own son. When I was three years old things changed. After he was arrested for murdering a fellow officer by his partner, James went to prison and turned State’s evidence.

Mom and I were supposedly put into wit-sec for the first time with Katie going along with us. Since Katie was James’ partner, arresting officer, and was close to the family she was allowed to remain close to us throughout my growing up years.

Our first life was in Wyoming, in a small town near the Wyoming Rockies. My name was Kyle Summers and we lived well for a few years. The area was remote with a small population and not many tourists, most of the time.

Then one year there was a tourist who was supposedly traveling up to Yellowstone when he stopped over at the hotel my mother worked at. As he checked in at the front desk he was eyeing my mom funny and gave her the creeps. She called the local cops because something didn’t feel right about him. Sure enough, he turned out to be a private investigator hired by my biological father to seek her out, and he had been successful.

There followed a few years with a lot of name changes and moves in order to get the enemies following us off of our trail. Unfortunately, we didn’t lose them until after tragedy nearly struck.

I was ten years old when one of the Marshal’s protecting us betrayed me. He had been paid off to turn me over to a group of criminals who were after me for my parentage by my biological father. (It turned out that my biological father had connections to the DC police corruption. That meant that my step-father Bennett was a paid minion for my biological father. Needless to say, that didn’t bode well for me (even though the men didn’t know the connection)). Bennett was one of the men in the group and their job was to torture me to death as a message for my mother. By clinical and legal definitions, I died that night… for the first time.

Chaos reigned when the Marshals raided the place. I was transported to a hospital, after being resuscitated, and they arrested the Marshal that had been paid off with the criminals who had been hurting me. They missed catching Bennett though. He managed to sneak away using his police training and was free to be a problem another day.

Waking up in the hospital, I was confused. My memory was blank, I had no idea who I was or what had transpired. After I woke up, mom and Katie worked with the Marshals to keep me entertained, calm, and to help me fill in the blanks of what had happened in my life up to my stay in the hospital. There was some editing in order for me to be able to be comfortable with the Marshals guarding me, but in general I knew the basics… or so I thought. (I never remembered for myself what had happened.)

Next, we got the identities of the Brooks in St Louis and Katie became the Ellen that I always think of her as being. Here, my mother married again. This time she made a good choice in marrying a military veteran who could handle protecting us, while also being a man of morals and principals that were needed in our lives after the previous men my mother had been involved with. They were married a few years when my baby sister was born, and for the first time in my remembered life I knew what it meant to be a family. Then there was too much attention being drawn to us and our enemies caught up to us again.

Eventually, when I was a teenager we settled down in Connecticut and I had my final wit-sec identity of Bryce Larkin.

When I turned eighteen, Ellen was being moved away from us. She felt that it was time for me to know the truth about my life, as far as she was aware of, and this was likely to be her last chance to tell me. After the private party, she sat me down and explained what she knew about Bennett and that I had been moved into wit-sec due to my father’s crimes. That night I said goodbye to Ellen, went home to talk to my parents, and the next morning I changed my plans.

In the fall I went to Stanford College to be a computer engineer. I had decided that I was going to leave my unpleasant past behind me and forge on to create a future of my choosing. My goal was to become my own man based on what I could be, instead of what my father figures had been.

Over the years that followed I met Chuck who was my first best friend, I joined the CIA which changed both of our lives, and I ended up undercover as Neal Caffrey with my partner Kate Moreau.

An undercover assignment brought me into contact with Ellen again. We talked and decided that she would refer to me as Neal and we would use my cover story of being the son of James Bennett with the one wit-sec identity of Danny Brooks. I was pleased to have her a part of my life again, but she couldn’t stay. So, we set up the beepers and parted ways for the time being.

Eventually, I went through the deal with the Intersect, died a few more times, became Peter’s CI, and worked for the FBI as a criminal consultant. That is what brought me to the point where I was abducted after Rebecca and the diamond case.

Rebecca had been working for a larger organization than she had realized, and when they didn’t get the diamond… they decided to take me instead. Their plan was for me to be a criminal that could pull of whatever heist they assigned me and in return, they would grant me life for a little longer. Some would say that it wasn’t a bad deal, because I was a criminal anyway… wasn’t I?

Being a CIA agent, I felt it more beneficial to allow them to pull my strings for a short in order for me to get an understanding of their inner workings. Then, when I felt that I had enough information I started the process of getting out.

The problem was that I had been tortured while inside so my injuries hindered my ability to escape and dismantle their organization in the process. I did manage to do some damage (which caused problems later), but I barely managed to escape.

My luck, the NSA agent who happened to come acrossed me was Colonel Casey of my old team. He was gruff and a little rough, but he did help to get me back to a base. There I was fixed up and the NSA arranged to cover for my rescue from the enemy which made it possible for me to reenter my deal with the FBI, despite being missing for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own anything and hope that you enjoy reading this tale :D
> 
> Thank you so much for all of the favorites, follows, bookmarks, kudos, reviews, and suggestion towards the next post. It was great seeing them pile up over the last few weeks as I traveled :D


	2. Back to the Office

*******

When I walked into the office for the first time since my absence, I knew that things were not going to go well.

First, the team had believed that I had run. Mozzie hadn’t been seen in a while, my anklet was cut, and I had made no contact to contradict the running theory that was buzzing through the FBI and Marshal offices. The NSA had given them information about finding me, but the information was so vague that they could have simply captured me for all the team knew. (They had had several weeks for their anger to stew and nothing to contradict the theory, but rather more evidence kept stacking up against me. Needless to say, the team wasn’t too friendly.)

My deal was reinstated, but the orders were worked out on the DC level which didn’t give the team any say in whether or not they wanted to invest their trust into working with me again. (A partnership that is on the rocks can only be made worse when it is a forced partnership on the rocks…)

Finally, to top everything else, they had living proof standing with them that there were things that I had never shared with them, things that I never knew myself to share.

Upon seeing Jack, I stopped. My eyes got big and my jaw dropped leaving my mouth hanging open. (I probably resembled a deer in the headlights standing slack jawed in the middle of the road). He was the perfect mirror image of me for the dark wavy hair, blue eyes, and the impeccable attire. Although, his suite was more of a standard G-man variety with the obvious bulge of a concealed weapon and a badge hung over his belt for identity sake in the office. The expression that was displayed in his features was the most upsetting about him though. It was as if he had made an opinion of me, and it wasn’t good. I could see the superiority that he was an agent and I was the criminal already reflected in his eyes.

Standing beside him, Peter had an angry comment. “You didn’t tell us that you had a brother, yet alone an identical twin. Do realize how much trouble it caused when he came walking in here with a full man hunt looking for you?”

Jack almost sneered at me. “Don’t look so surprised to see me. I have always know that you existed out there somewhere Dylan, so don’t play the whole innocent card with me. You had to have known that I exist!”

Dylan? A twin brother… and identical too? What else haven’t I been told?! It took everything I had in me not to collapse to the floor and mutter in shock. Instead, I simply stood there staring while my mind tried to discover what other secrets I hadn’t been told. As if by trying, I could fill in all of the blank spots and know all of the secrets about my life.

Peter decided that if I was going to be uncooperative, then I should be dismissed as far as he could send me. He gave me a stack of boring mortgage files and ordered me to my desk.

Settling in to begin my work, I noticed how every agent in the room was either watching me with dirty looks, or ignoring my very existence. The day didn’t get any better.

*******

The current case was an NSA and FBI joint operation that had a CIA analyst flying in to help. I discovered that they were working on going after the people behind Rebecca, the people that I had just escaped from.

Due to my injuries that were still healing, I was not allowed to go into the field for the CIA; and due to distrust, I was not allowed to go into the field for the FBI. That left me with plenty of time sitting at my computer filling out paper work while juggling the two case loads. Keeping the CIA work secret from the office was easy, because no one would talk to me or come anywhere near me.

Then the analyst walked into the office.

Chuck grinned at me and greeted me pleasantly before requesting to be directed to the agents in charge. Before I could direct him up to Peter and Jack, the two walked up to Chuck and introduced themselves. Turning to me Chuck said, “You never told me that you had a twin brother.”

Snorting I answered, “That is because I didn’t know until recently.”

Looking at me with his usual good hearted nature, Chuck had obviously decided that I was his next project. He knew me well, and my distress was obvious to those who were open to seeing it.

Avoiding the accusing looks, I still heard Peter and Jack.

“What do you mean you didn’t know, I was given full records as to what my name is? Why wouldn’t you?”   Were Jack’s accusing questions.

Peter’s frustration filled his words, “I thought Ellen told you your story, you mean to say that she never mentioned that you had a twin brother?”

Sighing, I answered. “Peter, Ellen told me that my name was Neal Bennett and that I went into wit-sec after my father was arrested. Nothing more into my history. Jack, I have spent my life running from more enemies than I can count and my files are still being withheld from me by the Marshals. I have asked and been denied repeatedly, so I have no idea of anything pertaining to my past beyond what I have been told.”

Chuck had the most disbelieving look on his face. “You have been denied looking at your files… even after… everything?!”

With a shrug I focused on Chuck. He was easier to talk to and more understanding, in some ways. “I have a lot of enemies Chuck. What happened with Casey, and the last time you saw me… well those weren’t the first times. The first time was when the family enemies got ahold of me when I was ten.” Seeing him go pale as a ghost, I tried to sooth him. “Don’t worry Chuck. I have absolutely no memory of what happened or anything building up to it.”

Shaking his head Chuck muttered in Klingon. _“And I thought that my family past was full of secrets and that my life had been turned upside down… Now I see why you were so determined to make sure I got to know the truth and you weren’t afraid to turn my life around to do it. Your life is a bigger mess with even more secrets. If there is anything that I can do to help you, please let me know.”_ Then he got a devious look and added. _“If you don’t, you know that we will gang up and get involved any way… So, it’s just easier to tell us than it is to have us put in the effort. It also decreases the odds of Casey tranqing you for annoying him.”_

After a moment of surprise, I rolled my eyes and responded in Klingon. _“You have gotten more devious working with the CIA. That is sneaky threatening to call Casey in to shoot me again… at least he didn’t shoot me when he found me.”_

Chuck squeaked in English. “Casey found you… were you hurt?”

I didn’t respond but simply gave him a look.

He responded in Klingon with a roll of his eyes. _“Right, when are you not getting hurt?”_

We kept up our banter in Klingon for a few more moments before Peter cleared his throat and I turned back to him. He had a mixed expression that meshed concern with annoyance. “What do you mean by what happened before wasn’t the first time, and what does he mean about you getting hurt? Answer in English, not… whatever that all was.”

There was no point in dodging his question completely, so I gave partial answers. “What happened before was in the past and that is where it should remain. (Turning to Chuck). Stop glaring at me Chuck. You know the situations involved the Marshals, CIA, NSA, and I am not cleared to talk about them. (Back to Peter). As for the recent events. Rebecca worked for more powerful people than we expected and they weren’t too happy that we foiled their plans for getting their hands on the diamond that they wanted.”

Peter looked somewhere between disbelief and upset. He wasn’t sure why there would be any involvement with so many agencies in my past, and he realized that there was more to my disappearance than he thought.

“There is no reason for the CIA and the NSA to be involved with your life, unless they were chasing you for a crime.” My brother had obviously decided not to believe me, and with his comment I could see the distrust grow in the faces of the others.

Chuck looked at me with raised eyebrows.

In response I simply shrugged.

Deciding to get the situation back under control, Chuck changed the subject and redirected the focus back to the case. He, Peter, and Jack went up to the conference room and began working on the case.

Meanwhile, I returned to my desk with the same response as before, the agents watching or ignoring me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Per my usual posting schedule, this story is completed and will be posted every Sunday unless previously noted otherwise. (I really need to remember to place that in the opening chapter!)
> 
> Thank you for reading everybody and an extra thank you to those who take the time to leave reviews, kudos, and comment :D Also, thank you to those who continue to read and show the love for my older stories! :D


	3. Old Friendships Renewed

*******

Later, Chuck was assigned to work with me while the others went out to do some field work.

It was great! Simply getting down to the work and running through scenarios with nothing bared and no holding back. I knew that Chuck was the Intersect and a “Director Special Agent” while he knew that I was “Lead Agent in Charge” and CIA as well.

Working quickly, we had all of the case work assigned to us completed, the cases piled up on my desk solved, and a game plan for progressing the current case.

With time to spare, we decided to talk and get caught up on the time we missed as well as the holes in my past that Chuck wanted filled in on. Speaking in Klingon, we annoyed every agent in range, but our conversation was kept completely secret and free.

I went over what I had been told about my past before waking up in the hospital, my life as Danny Brooks, my family, me as Bryce Larkin, and the details of Neal Caffrey. The story went into the details of being a CI, working with Peter (how much I liked and respected him as a friend), and how I had disappeared when the situation conveniently looked like I ran due to my early release not being approved. I told him about how much Peter seemed to be distrusting and regretting not going to DC, about my new found brother thinking the worst of me without even giving me a chance, the team’s lack of interaction and forgiveness, how my brother and other best friend are working together and giving me the cold shoulder because I am such a criminal in their eyes… and in short I unloaded all of my emotions to my first best friend.

Chuck was his usual self and went out of his way to pull out his old phycology lessons from too many visits on the couch. He told me to give them time. They could come around and understand, but if they didn’t, well, he understood and his door would always be open to me. I even got a job offer to join Carmichael Industries and the Buy More if I ever decided to go that route.

When it started to look like I was going to turn down his offer, he cut me off. “It isn’t something that you have to do now, it is open to you whenever you may decide that you want it. If you’re concerned what Sarah and the others would think… well it was Sarah’s idea to offer you a place to call home. My whole family is staying in one of my mom’s safe houses here in the city. We are meeting you somewhere tonight so that everyone else can say hi and we can get you worked back into the group… as a welcome member this time.” He finished with a smirk and a sparkle in his eyes that had all of my tension fleeing my system.

Relieved, I could only nod in agreement and convey my feelings in a look.

With an answering look of acceptance and support, Chuck took off and filled me in on his life.

He told me about failing the training to be an agent. (I couldn’t help but laugh at the image of his pants falling down in front of everyone when he removed his belt). Then he proceeded to tell me about his training, working with his father, his family finding out his secret, finding his mother, taking down one criminal empire after another, and finally opening his own business.

I was amused to hear that he was from spy royalty, impressed with how well he had done, and immensely relieve to discover that he didn’t lose himself in it all. In fact, he had grown, matured, and was confident in who he was and were he was going. If things didn’t work out here in the long run, it was nice to know that I would always have such a friend and place to turn to when I needed it.

Our conversation turned to other directions and by the time the rest of the team got back to the office, Chuck and I were about to fall off of our chairs in laughter.

When everyone walked into the office, they all stopped.

They had never heard me laugh until I cried in simple enjoyment of being with an old friend and remembering the simpler days before cons, stings, aliases, and all of the hardships of working for the government. There was a simple innocence to the way that Chuck and I were laughing and the team didn’t know what to think about that.

After my eyes cleared and I could see that there were people standing behind Chuck, I quickly sobered up and handed over all of my files before I could be scolded for lolly-gagging on the job.

Peter gave me a look that said he wished that he had heard me laugh like that with him before.

Jack passed me by with a simple look that said he had seen the human side of me in that few moments of pure enjoyment.

The team had a mixture of the emotions, but none of them were as strongly felt as with Peter and Jack (Jones and Diana were close though).

When Chuck settled down, he went to the conference room to work with them, but he had parting words for me.

“My dad is in town and would like to talk to you about the ‘you know what’ and whether or not you want one. Also, if your injuries have healed enough, we are so going to play ‘Gotcha’ later. It has been about ten years since we have simply relaxed and been carefree friends like we were so long ago. So many things have happened then and I want to play for the simple enjoyment of being able to.”

Looking forward to it I answered, “It would probably help with everything that needs to be done. I’ll look him up and arrange a meeting. I bet you dinner that I can still beat you even with your advantage!”

He simply grinned and got his competitive look as he replied. “Deal, I hope you don’t mind buying for everyone as you are so going to lose!”

With exchanged grins we went our separate ways to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everybody for reading and to those who choose to follow, leave kudos, bookmark, and review :D
> 
> Just a heads up, I am going out of town part of this week so my next update will be posted either late Sunday or on the more likely Monday.


	4. Chapter Four: Recollections of last night

******

The office is a steady hum as personnel go about their morning tasks. Chuck is up in the conference room with the team’s agents as they continue to work on the case, and I am once again stationed at my desk working through mountains of cold cases and boring mortgage fraud.

At least the quiet, work oriented tasks allow me to adjust to my new circumstances in private.

***

Last night I contacted Orion using our old communication methods and arranged for a meeting. We met in an old warehouse where he filled me in on the updates and new discoveries pertaining to the Intersect. After he felt I was ready, he set me up with the new 2.0 version of the program.

Once my system had recovered from the massive invasion of information, and my brain had a chance to reboot, I opened my eyes to find myself looking up at a sympathetic Chuck.

He simply helped me to sit up and gave me some pills with a bottle of water to ease the pain of the headache. I took the pills and washed them down as he sat down beside me. When I had finished drinking, Chuck quietly handed me a watch that I quickly recognized as being my own governor.

“We’ll see to it that you have some backups just in case anything were to happen to this one. I keep a whole case full at home and bring multiple models along when I travel.”

For that first hour Chuck went over his experiences of having the Intersect and shared various tips that helped to make the use of the system both safer and easier.

When the pinched look left my face and it was obvious that the initial download affects had passed… Chuck got a grin that told me things were about to get interesting.

Leading the way, Chuck walked Orion and I through the little office door and into the main room. Looking around, I couldn’t help but grin at what I saw.

The bulk of space in the warehouse was arrange as a large training facility. There were obstacles, bases, open turf, and barriers set up around the room to provide both challenges and cover while the combatants tried to best each other in the field.

Standing in relaxed groups, the teams were already arranged by drawing names out of a hat. Chuck and I were captains, and following the bet we set in the office, the losing captain bought dinner afterwards. My team consisted of Ellie, Orion, Casey and I against Morgan, Chuck, Devon, and Frost. Alex was remaining in the other room with Clara to observe the fun while Sarah acted as a referee and overall observer for technical critiquing.

We were playing a hyped up version of laser tag so the lights would be out and adding an additional element of challenge. Since Orion and Chuck had teamed up, the technology was great! The vest and guns had longer lasting batteries than usual, the targeting system was very accurate, and the system made you “dead” for a full five minutes once you returned to your base after being shot.

One of the downsides to playing in the dark meant that we couldn’t see to identify our team mates from the other team, and a shot to our team mates counted against us. To combat that, all players had ear pieces tuned to their teams channel for communication; which lead to the possibility of giving yourself away if the opponents heard you confirming you location to a team mate.

However, there was no worries of losing track of who was winning as the score board was electronically mounted on the far wall for all to see, and the equipment was all wirelessly connected.

For the first half an hour, I was basically thrown into the deep end and I had to learn how to use the Intersect in a stressful environment with no prior practice. Internally, I felt bad once again for sending it to Chuck and putting him through a situation far worse than this, but really I had no other choice at the time so even if I could reverse the time clock, I would probably still do it again.

Then, we spent a couple of hours playing with the lights on so that the others could see to train me. I was told that I didn’t do too bad for a first timer, but it was abundantly clear that I would need practice before I would have any chance of being as good at the Intersect as Chuck, if it was even possible then was left unsaid.

To wrap up the playing, we spent another hour with the lights out while Chuck and I endeavored to not have to pay for dinner. In the end, Chuck’s team won by a point and I had to buy, to my chagrin.

Since it was late, I picked a restaurant close by that had good food and could cater to family groups. As we sat eating we did a lot of talking. There was sympathy for my mysterious and troubled background, jokes about me being “zombie Bryce” (mostly carried by Morgan), various details of the past, and the options that they wanted me to know I had open to me in the future should I need them.

It was a relief to find myself being razzed for my past actions more than being criticized or hated. My deaths were being made a friendly joke that acknowledge them while not dwelling on them. Finally, I was accepted as a part of their future and expected to drop by when I could, if nothing else.

After we had finished eating, I accompanied them back to their hotel. The civilians retired for the night and the agents gathered in Chuck’s and Sarah’s room for a meeting.

To fill the group in, I went over the cases that Peter and I had been working, my abduction, and what I had learned since by continued research. As I went over the information I found myself flashing in time with Chuck, and occasionally Orion, as the Intersects connected data that we hadn’t previously put together.

Then Chuck filled us in on what the team had collected and had been working on since I was being shut out and the others hadn’t been present.

With the information on the table, we set up an altered game plan to handle the case using Chuck’s and my previous idea as a jump start.

Orion and Morgan were to be our command center as they coordinated the surveillance, gathered information from the databases, and kept an eye on the activities of the rest of the team to ensure no one needed any help. Frost, Casey, and Sarah were dividing up the street work of the surveillance to continue to collect information and keep the opponents from causing any more trouble if possible. Chuck was going to continue to work with the team while playing that he was no more than “Chuck” the CIA analyst who they perceived as being nothing more than a pencil pusher from Langley. As for myself, well I was to keep cover and practice using my Intersect so that when it was needed, I would be ready.

Before the evening was up we made plans for more laser tag training sessions, sparing, and more meetings. (All of which would force me to work on my field skills and researching skills using the Intersect.)

It was rather late when I went back to June’s, but a restful night’s sleep had me more prepared for the office.

***

When I walked in this morning, I was met with the suspicious and curious Jack and Peter who wanted to know what I had done last night.

I simply responded. “I played laser tag with Chuck and some other old friends, went to dinner with his family, and caught up on old times as well as setting up plans to get together again.”

Jack looked affronted that I would tell him such a story instead of the truth. “Why didn’t you invite anyone along to meet these ‘old acquaintances’?”

Looking him straight in the eyes I answered, “You don’t know me and yet you judge me. Why would I want to subject them to such treatment? Besides, I didn’t think you would like to go and the rest of the team haven’t exactly been on speaking terms with me.”

He flinched at the first part of my statement, but questioned the second. “Why?”

“Because I would be there, and so far you have stayed away from where I am unless you intend to confront me.” With a sigh I continued. “I have no idea what happened in the past, but Chuck’s government friends are trying to help me get the chance to see my files. If they are successful, I’ll let you know what I find.”

Before things could turn awkward, I turned and walked to my desk to begin the latest stack of files that were waiting for me. Everyone else proceeded to do their work as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and leaving reviews, kudos, favorites, and follows :D
> 
> I'm back from my trip and only have a few weekend trips planned over the summer so no major interruptions in posting again until fall.


	5. Chapter Five: Progress

*******

Over the weeks that followed we formed a pattern.

At the office the team were more subdued than hostile after realizing that if they wanted me to share things with them, they needed to give me a chance. My work still contained the same cold cases and mortgage fraud as before, and the rest of the group still worked without me.

In the field, the opponents associated my damage to their organization and the increased attention they were getting to the White Collar office.

After work, I spent my time working with Chuck and the others to train and advance our efforts to get the case closed.

Each day had a general routine that I could expect as far as work was concerned, but when it came to the people interactions, there were still things that needed to be worked out.

Peter was a growing less angry, but he still wasn't ready to sit down and talk to me.

The team followed Peter's lead.

Jack, well he opened up and shared a few details with me.

He was ten when his adoptive parents sat him down and explained to him that he was adopted. The files that he had been showed listed him as being the younger twin and that his mother had given him up due to not being able to handle two newborns as a single mother on her own. From then on he was torn. A part of him liked to imagine what it would be like if he had been raised by his birth mother and grew up with a twin. Would they switch places, be best friends, and what would it be like to be a little brother? The other part of him was angry that his mother had given him up. Was there anything wrong with him, what made the other twin the choice one to keep?

When he did eventually discover me, it was by accident. His orders were to go to New York and work with a White Collar team of the FBI who had gotten mixed up in a larger case. Walking into the room, he was surprised to be met by an uproar.

After it was settled that he was Jack, instead of the infamous Neal Caffrey, he was able to build a working relationship with my team and tried to get a better picture of who I had become. To his dismay, he found that his big brother was a legendary criminal that appeared to have run simply because his request for an early release had been denied. The angry side of his emotions won out and from the beginning I didn't stand a chance with him.

My comment about him judging me without getting to know me did have an effect, but it was more him explaining himself at first. I hoped that he would eventually give me the chance to tell him what I could about who I really was… but I didn't know if that option would ever come.

On the other side of the circumstances I was pleasantly surprised by my acceptance into the Bartowski crew.

Orion appeared to have forgiven me my actions (to a point), and was accepting that Chuck chose to have me around so he might as well accept me too.

Frost, well she did thank me for protecting Chuck and Ellie. Otherwise, she acknowledged me much the same way that she did Casey. As her son's colleague and friend.

Devon and Ellie gave me their telling off (without Chuck knowing) before going big brother and sister on me. Suddenly, they were willing to be shoulders to lean on and invited me to talk to them whenever I needed it. They didn't want me to end up in a situation where I would mess with Chuck's life again, but they didn't want to leave me hanging with no one either.

Sarah decided that we would part friends and simply be coworkers when we had to be. There were no longer any feelings between us and her anger at my not informing her of my survival was put aside after I discussed it with the group. I think it also helped when she trained me with the Intersect in a sparring match. (She got to beat me up a little and vent her anger at me verbally.)

I was surprised Casey was so welcoming. There were plenty of cracks about me being a con man and snarks about my role, but he generally seemed to welcome the challenge of working with me. Casey was my main sparring partner and he seemed to enjoy pitting his skills against mine and the Intersect.

Morgan was a little more challenging to settle the situation with. He insisted that we go out, just the two of us, so that we could talk in private. Sitting in the restaurant, he proceeded to tell me everything that I had done wrong when it came to Chuck. Then, he told me everything that had gone wrong in my life that he knew off. After he finished recounting just how bad I sounded and how messed up my life was, he surprised me.

"Dude, you are like a living super hero. You overcame your past as best as you could, you saved your friends and those around you no matter the cost to you, and you have secret identities that have secret identities! I am so calling you "Zombie Bryce", or Neal should I ever be around the others… by the way… why haven't I been allowed to see your office or anything? I hear that your apartment is reputed to be really cool with secret walls and doors."

For a moment I simply tried to come up with a response. "I'm not a super hero Morgan… if anyone is, the role fits Chuck better. As for the nick name, then I guess I get to continue to call you the 'Bearded Gnome'." Sighing I continued. "As for the office and the apartment… we'll see how things progress. For now we have larger priorities to attend to."

For an extended lunch we simply talked about whatever came to mind and Morgan was mostly able to put his animosity aside. His superiority as Chuck's best friend didn't leave, but then again I doubt that it ever will.

Alex was a first time acquaintance so there was no animosity to overcome, simply a new friendship to be created.

I was a hit when I met little Clara. The ability to sing, dance, create pretty things, and do tricks had her enthralled from the start.

All in all, there was still work to be done to regain the ground I had lost in the office, my brother was still rather estranged from me, and the Bartowski crew was filled with old and new friendships that needed to be kindled. Still, I had made progress.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading as well as the follows, favorite, kudos, and review. :D


	6. Trouble leads to discoveries

*******

The day that changed everything started out pretty normal.

I walked into the office and went to work on the pile of cases on my desk, the team was dominantly up in the conference room, and everyone else was buzzing about doing their work.

It was midmorning when Morgan brought some information in for Chuck. As Chuck was in the middle of a meeting, he decided to have me look over it first and asked me what I thought about it. When I was done looking it over and discussing my opinion with him, we took it up to Chuck and the rest of the team.

With the meeting over, I simply knocked on the door and wordlessly led Morgan into the room.

Morgan passed Chuck the folder. “Hey Chuck, Zombie Neal thinks that this information means that there may be an attack in the near future. The surveillance agents have lost their targets, the organization has been being extra sneaky lately, and it is theorized that they may have been involved in the theft of a rather dangerous computer bomb.”

Chuck paled, “Pull everyone back closer so that no one can be caught out alone. Keep any possible surveillance going so that we can try to be prepared and ask the General for any additional information that other operatives may have picked up. Neal and I will take care of things here, should that be necessary.”

With a jaunty salute Morgan left the office. “I’ll relay your orders to the others.”

Although no one said anything, I could see the team looking confused and questioning. They gave me several looks that obviously asked what was up with ‘Zombie Neal’ and the rest of the looks were directed at Chuck wondering why a ‘pencil pusher’ was suddenly ordering a team of field operatives with practiced ease.

After a moment, I nodded to Chuck and followed Morgan out.

I think that was one of those moments when they realized that there was more going on with Chuck and I than they knew of.

*******

That afternoon we had our attack.

We had all returned to our desk and everyone was generally back to work as usual, on the surface. The air had an electrical feeling that said everyone was on edge and we were fully alert to the potential threat. It was unnerving to be working, watching the door out of the corner of my eye, and knowing that the team were now looking at me trying to understand what they couldn’t possibly guess at.

I was giving my current reports to Peter when there was a rush of noise and burst of air hit my back.

Before I could turn around, I found my arms pulled behind me and I was being shoved forwards to the floor with cuffs being put on my wrists. There was a prick in my neck as a needle was inserted and a liquid was injected into my veins.

As I lay on the floor feeling the heat spread through my body, I could vaguely hear the noise of what was going on around the office through the sound my own blood flow.

The intruders had wisely picked a day when most agents were out of the office and those who were in, were on other floors. For the agents that were on our floor, their guns, phones, and other problematic possessions were removed while they were bound and arranged around the offices outer wall, where desks were unreachable.

In order to keep the agents from doing anything stupid, the intruders set up a large computer bomb on my desk and the leader showed that he was holding the detonator. His assistants were heavily armed and ready to kill on order.

When the intruders were satisfied that they had secured the premises as best as possible, they decided to pick their bone with me.

“Mr. Caffrey. So, you thought that you could take advantage of our hospitality and our willingness to let you live, despite your participation in keeping our diamond from us, as long as you were useful in order to discover a way to damage our organization on your way out the door?” He said while inducing torture. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Do you really think that we didn’t notice your NSA friend who picked you up, or your government buddies who have been watching us? We knew you were a good thief, so we decided to take you as payment for the FBI’s interference. The plan was to have you steal something for us… something that only one man has ever managed to steal before. Unfortunately, you will no longer be needed as you have caused us too much trouble.”

Deciding to go with the Reverse Interrogation route, I began questioning him to discover what they were ultimately going after (despite the continued torture that meant I had to endure). “If only one man has ever managed to steal it, what makes me so special as to be able to do it?”

With an air of superiority he explained. “The agent was Bryce Larkin of the CIA. He is said to have had dark wavy hair, blue eyes, a charming smile, been fleet of foot, very intelligent, and a capable thief when the government ordered him… alas another group called the Ring killed him off. Ironically, they killed him off twice before it finally stuck (said with a sense of humor). As far as the general description goes you could be the agent himself.”

Realizing that he was talking about me and the Intersect, I decided to push for more information. Putting on a thinking expression I asked, “It sounds like there would be a lot of government security and agencies like the CIA involved… my consulting badge only goes so far, even in the FBI. How would I have gotten past the security system?”

The man looked like he had the best secret going for him. “We have people paid off. They said that they could get Director Carmichael to let you in.”

Chuck and I shared a curious expression and he asked. “How would they manage that?”

In a full ‘villain sharing his dastardly plan’ mode, the man proceeded to explain his plans. “Rumor has Carmichael as being a bit of a weakling despite his records of taking down so many organizations. We felt that a threat would be enough, if not we would result to… other alternatives (said with spine tingling evil).”

Trying to gage more of his plans I continued to ask questions. “Now that you plan to kill me… who do you plan on replacing me with?”

That wiped off some of his smug expression. “Hmm, good question… perhaps we’ll simply have to choose your friend here and hope he can do the job.” He grabbed Chuck and drug him up to the front with me.

Putting on his ‘I’m not dangerous’ whine, Chuck complained. “I’m not a thief, I’m just an analyst… why don’t you keep him! He has done that before!”

Using the change in direction I followed Chuck’s lead as we arranged our counter attack. “Hey, they aren’t supposed to know that!” I nodded at the man with the detonator signaling for Chuck to take him and the bomb while I took on the other men.

Nodding his understanding, Chuck replied. “Why not? They want the man who can steal the Intersect and since you stole it and sent it to me once, you would be the best candidate to steal it again!”

Taking the cue to act as being in my hands, I gave the command. “Seriously Carmichael…do you really want to bring all of that up again NOW…” We both jumped up into action.

Chuck pulled a beautiful spin kick that threw the detonator into the waiting hands of Peter. (He had picked his cuffs earlier and brought his hands to the front when Chuck and I jumped up). A karate chop had the surprised leader down for the count and Chuck fought his way through the men guarding the bomb. He quickly took them down and moved to begin work on disabling the bomb before a backup system could be triggered.

My job was a little harder. I had been tortured a bit again so my movements were a bit painful and slower than usual, but having the Intersect made up for a lot of that as I didn’t have to think. A few flashes later, and my opponents were also down.

“Uh, Bryce… the secondary system was on the whole time and we have three minutes before this blows. I’m going to need your help here.”

Moving over to assist him, I could see that this was going to take a combination of taking the bomb apart and computer engineering to stop it. The reason he needed my help was the redundant third backup system.

Dividing the bomb into two parts, we went to work. Speaking in a combination of English and Klingon we carefully took the system apart and deprogramed the bomb’s timer. That way, the systems wouldn’t set off the bomb, and the bomb was in enough pieces that it couldn’t be set back up without putting it back together again.

With the danger past, Chuck and I high fived, like we did back in college, and he said. “I don’t know about you Bryce, but I never imagined that we would be working on things like assassins and computer bombs when we planned to work together back in college!”

Laughing with him I said. “That is because we were still civilians kids who seemed to have normal families, and thought that maybe we could build normal lives for ourselves… since then a lot of things have changed.”

Smiling at me Chuck said. “My life has gotten a whole lot better in ways that I never dreamed of… and I owe that all to you. Saving me back in college and sending me the Intersect later started the course that got me to where I am today. If I haven’t said thank you, thank you!”

Before I could answer him, my brother spoke up with a series of questions. “You mean that you are Charles Carmichael… as in Director Special Agent Carmichal? And you Neal, you’re Bryce Larkin… as in Lead Agent in Charge Agent Larkin? Seriously, two of the biggest legends in field agents that our generation has to put into the field! You guys are heroes and yet you play roles like a CI and a pencil pusher from Langley?”

Chuck looked embarrassed, but I was not happy to have my brother act like ‘all is well’ simply because I turned out to be an agent.

“Jack. Just because I am an agent doesn’t make me any better than a criminal. I was three years old when my step-father was arrested as a dirty cop, ten when a Marshal sold me out to a kill squad, I was shot in the back by a CIA agent, there are a few FBI agents who have gone after me with less than honorable intent, also Fulcrum and the Ring were full of traitorous CIA and NSA agents. On the other side, I have known criminals, like Mozzie, that I felt safer turning my back on than the very agents I am supposed to trust. A badge doesn’t change the person, the person changes the badge. I would appreciate it if you would actually take the time to get to know me before you make your judgments instead of running off of assumptions based on my reputations.”

Seeing the expressions of surprise and remorse on everyone’s faces, I decided to leave the room with parting words to Chuck in Klingon. “It looks like you may still be my only friend, really.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for reading, reviewing, following, leaving kudos, and choosing to favorite :D
> 
> The story will change up next week with Chuck having his say to tell the office off for their recent behavior and upsetting Neal ;)
> 
> There are only two more chapters to this story so it's time to ask again if anyone has any requests for the next story. I have some interesting plots to chose from like whether or not Peter is an assassin sent to kill Neal, why does Neal commit murder in front of Peter, what is it like when Neal is turned into a hamster, ect. Check out my profile page for more information :D


	7. Chuck's reprimands

**********

After Bryce left, I turned to the agents before me.

“I’ve been his only friend for a long time, and I really don’t want to always be the only one that he feels comfortable turning to, the only person who knows him for who he is behind those masks that he throws up for the world to see. He has done so much for me over the years, I want better for him.

Ever since I found that he was here, he has spent a lot of time talking about you.

Peter, he is full of how much he respects you. Do you know that he says you’re a Fed version of me? That he trusts you like he does me? That is a huge thing coming from the person who told me once that I was the only person he could trust, the only friend that he really had. From your perspective, he is a con that you have to watch in order to keep him in line and you aren’t sure what to think about his recent disappearance. What you need to know is that he didn’t betray you and that even if he did, it would be for a good reason. You can trust him.

Jack. You see him as a criminal and that burst your bubble of the big brother that you had always imagined so you’re angry about it. There is one thing that I want you to remember though. Bryce never had a normal life. He knows how to be a kid in wit-sec, in college he experimented a little bit with who he wanted to be, and then he became an agent with a new identity every mission. His life has been nothing but lies and secret identities so he doesn’t know much about having the stability of family and friends. My request for you is that you give him a break. Take the time to get to know him for who he is, even if you have to help him find that out for himself along the way. You’re brothers after all…

Jones and Diana. He is one of the best agents I have ever had the privilege to work with and one of my closest friends. You are unsure of what to think of him now when you have known all along.

For all of you, all you have to do is be his friend and give time a chance to reveal what he is actually doing when things don’t look right… A lesson that I learned the hard way. I made the mistake of thinking that he had betrayed me, that he was a traitor who destroyed my life for nothing, and finally it seemed like he was messing with me whenever he was back in the picture.   Then, it turned out that he was saving my life, ensuring the safety of many while making sure I found my family, and finally he was part clinging to the connections that he had and part unaware of what affect his actions were having. Don’t make my mistake of hating him for years when all he did was have my back.”

As I spoke, I watched the faces of the agents change. First they were surprised, and then they felt regret for how they had been treating Bryce. The cold shoulder treatment was an effect of their emotions, and not something they were proud of.

Then Jack seemed to realize something. “Wait, didn’t Bryce Larkin get killed by Casey?”

Peter spoke up as well. “He said earlier that 'what happened with Casey, and the last time you saw me wasn't the first time.’ Now Jack says that he was killed by Casey… doesn’t that mean that he has been killed three times… with the first being due to a betrayal by the Marshals when he was ten?”

I felt sick again as I remembered learning he was dead, watching him die, and learning that he had endured such horrors at such a young age. All I could do was silently turn my face away from them and fight to keep from showing just how bad I felt.

My silent confirmation had the room going dead silent while Peter, Jack, and a few others inhaled gasps of horror.

Once I had my emotions under control again, I turned back to see the rest of room with their own pale, sick looking faces. (A few of them even had tears from crying). Each of them were rather upset to discover that the charming con man that they had known, was a man who had died multiple times and knew the darker side of life more that they liked.

Having regained my composure, I tried to help them get control of theirs. “Bryce told me that he still has complete amnesia for the situation when he was ten and everything prior to it. As for the other two situations… well… he told me that he was okay. I know that is not exactly comforting, it didn’t help me either, but the point is that he is alive and that is a part of his past and he would like it to remain there. The best way for you to handle it is to move forward, aware of the past, but don’t dwell on it. You noticed how Morgan called him ‘zombie Neal,’ well he has been calling him that as a means of acknowledging the past while not dwelling on it.” Mildly amused, I continued. “Bryce has allowed Morgan to refer to him like that, but he calls him ‘the bearded gnome’ in return.”

Peter was pulling himself together and nodded at me. “Well, he has always been one to keep his past in his past, and he prefers not to dwell on it. He has allowed the occasional joke of acknowledgement as well. So, you would say that the Neal Caffrey we know is Bryce… only with the additions of crime and dishonesty? Maybe a few added attributes for… whatever reason he is here playing Caffrey?”

Smiling at him in encouragement, I said. “From what I have gotten to know of his character… I would say that yes, he is a lot like Bryce. But not completely. For instance, Bryce is a computer engineer and a proud nerd. Caffrey doesn’t appear to display those qualities. On the other side his loyalty, his love of a challenge, and his annoying qualities are probably spot on.”

I noticed that Jack was still having trouble deciding what to think. “Jack. A big brother is someone who has your back no matter what. He is the person who encourages you to reach goals that you don’t think you can. He is not afraid to laugh at you and with you, but when you are hurting he would do anything for you.

Bryce was my roommate back in college. He protected me when my test scores put me on every radar on campus for Government and Anti-Government organizations, people who were going to force me into deadly situations whether I wanted to go, or not. When I was an analyst, I always felt inferior to Bryce who was the suave superspy that could do anything, but he told me that I could be the superspy. He told me that I was capable of anything I set my mind too. I admit that was during the time that I moved between hatred and jealously, but that was before I learned that he was right and that I could be the superspy. Because he had known things about my family and I that I just didn’t see, he was encouraging me to reach heights that I never thought possible. Back in college, he spent plenty of time listening to me go on about being upset that my parents had abandoned me. Then when my father started working with him, he made choices that lead me to finding my family.

You want the big brother that you pictured so bad that you didn’t give him time to prove that he is in fact, that very brother. How do I know that those are attributes of a big brother? Because I have a big sister, her husband, and a few other friends who are also like brothers to me; with less drama but that was a result of circumstances.”

Enough time had passed for us to deal with the beginning of the emotional aspects, but now it was time for us to return our focus to the unconscious men strewn about the floor. Only a few minutes had past, but it was too long for a bunch of responsible agents to stand about talking instead of taking care of a hostile takeover. (Ironic coming from me, I know).

As the focus changed back to the task at hand, the agents began going to work on taking the men into custody and the situation was quickly taken care of. Still, I knew that the personal situation still had some work to go, despite the progress that was just made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for reading and an extra thanks to those who reviewed, followed, left kudos, and chose to favorite this or other stories :D
> 
> Per a readers choice, I will be posting "When murder isn't as it appears" next and after that I plan to post "FBI Unlikely."


	8. Moving Forwards

*******

Chuck came over the evening after the attack and told me about his discussion with my brother and the team. I hoped that it would be the conversation that fixed my life… if only life worked that way.

*******

When I walked into the office the next day, I was dismayed to see the efforts of the others to hide their regret and the expressions that said they were still upset about discovering my past.

In my mind I pictured myself telling them "First you act like I am a pariah and then you act like I am fragile glass. Really people, I'm fine! Can we please go back to normal? Please yell at me for my mistakes, joke about me pulling alleged crimes, and tease me about threats to throw me back into prison… I would even take a day in the van if it meant being able to be a part of the team again."

Instead, I sighed to myself and sat at my desk to continue working on another pile of files.

Throughout the day the team looked as if they were going to approach me, but then they would seem to feel like they couldn't. It was disheartening to be the odd man out, so I decided to leave early and go home with the hope that maybe tomorrow would be better.

As I walked my files up to Peter I could tell that the office was feeling like the clock was running, that their time to talk to me was running out.

Walking into Peter's office, I saw his head snap up and Jack spun around to see me. Both of their expressions got rather awkward and I felt like going home even more. Being a spy might mean keeping emotions out of the work, but when it is your friends and family that are hurting you, it is really hard not to get personal. Handing Peter the files, I said, "I'm heading home."

Before I could walk out of Peter's office, both he and Jack spoke up. "Neal…"

As I stopped, they both got nervous and looked like they wanted to say something, but weren't sure how to start.

"If it helps you, I really am fine. I'm trained to take a hit, be it physically or personally, and I have a lot of experience at it. So please, say whatever it is that you want to say and stop acting like I'm going to break if you say what is on your minds."

They both looked like they were abashed by my words.

Peter pulled it together first. "Neal, I know that you were abducted, that you were hurt, and that apparently an NSA agent helped to get you out. But, by the time I knew that, I had spent quite a while feeling like you had given up on me. That you had decided to take the situation into your own hands. And... It hurt. Then, working to find you, your brother walks into the office as living evidence that there were things that you had hidden. He told us what he knew, and it was rather contradicting to your story. Since he was an agent, and to our knowledge you were a con, we felt it was more likely that you had been conning us and he was telling the truth. That… that hurt worse, which brought a lot of anger.

Then when you did come walking back into the office, you were so surprised that he even existed but he knew about you. I figured that Ellen had told you about your father, wouldn't she have told you about your brother?

Later, when Chuck just started talking to you like you were old friends… it was like there was a whole other part of your life that you had kept from me. Suddenly, I wasn't the only friend you talked to like that.

When Chuck and you were laughing… there was an honesty and innocence that I had never heard before.

Really, one thing after another cumulated to show that there were a lot of holes in our friendship, and that hurt, a lot. I felt hurt, angry, and afraid… so I pushed you away. I'm not proud of it, but it only got worse when I found out that you had been…been ki-killed. Neal, you're the best friend and partner that I have ever had and had things gone differently you would have been dead when you were ten and we would have never met. You know that I am not good with all of the emotional stuff, this is harder than anything that I have ever dealt with, but I am dealing. It is just taking some time for me to regain my bearings."

Sighing, I responded. "I know Peter. I have been thrown curveballs every so often all of my life… and they take time to recover from. It's not your fault, I'm just glad that you're giving me a chance." I hadn't met to hurt him with my words, but he still flinched. "I'm sorry Peter, I don't mean to be hurtful. Like Chuck told you, I've played characters most of my life and the only time that I have ever been myself was for a few years in college… it's going to take practice and time for me too."

Jack was ready to speak. "I owe you an apology brother… I like that… brother." Grinning for a moment he relished the word. "I had a normal childhood, that I took for granted, and I never thought that there was any way that you would have had anything different. Then I finally find where you are and it turns out that you're a criminal. The image that I had created of you was destroyed and I didn't know what to do about it. I also pushed you away due to my hurt, anger, and fear. You were able to hurt me, even though I didn't know you. And you were right, I should have given you the chance to show me who you were beyond the reputations. I hope we can get to know each other, and who knows… maybe we could even work an assignment together?"

Despite the awkwardness that was underlying the conversation, I responded. "I have known what it is like to have a big brother in Peter, a little brother in Chuck, but an identical brother is probably something wholly different. I look forward to finding out…" (Laughing). "I just pictured the two of us playing up the whole twins thing and terrifying some unsuspecting terrorist organization."

Peter and Jack laughed with me until Peter got an unsettle look on his face. "That means that you're going to have to practice... oh boy. I can see trouble coming with that and I'm feeling tired already."

That just made Jack and I laugh harder as Peter simply looked like he was imagining all of the trouble that we could get into.

A knock on the door had our attention turning to Jones and Diana as they cautiously entered the room.

"If I may ask, what's so funny?"

"Yeah, we were curious as to what the joke was."

Seizing the opening, I explained. "Oh, I was just thinking about what Jack said and thought that it could be fun to play up the whole identical twins thing on a mission. Peter thought the idea could be funny, that was until he realized that it would take practice before we could pull something like that off. Now, he is just imagining the trouble we could cause around here and feeling tired already. Instead of just having me as a little brother figure… now he has identical double trouble to deal with." I had a full mischievous look going by the time I finished, and I could see that Jones and Diana were part amused and part afraid, like Peter. Still, there was a relief on all of their faces that we were finally talking.

With a glare, Diana said, "I'm going to have to get new threats that apply to both of you. The whole break your arm thing isn't going to cut it anymore, even though you knew I wasn't going to actually do it, it was still something to say when you ticked me off. I get the feeling the whole 'playing up the identical twins thing' is going to tick me off."

Jones got a look on his face. "Oh, I think I already got a taste of that. As I recall, I was supposed to tail someone, only, when I followed them into a park everyone was dressed the same way. In the confusion of figuring out what was going on, that someone slipped away."

Chuckling I responded to them. "Well Jones, what was actually going on will have to be a story for another day. Diana, you couldn't break my arm unless I let you. You could take me on sparring sometime if you want me to prove it." My daring smirk riled her up.

Taking the dare. "You're on Caffrey! By the way, do we still call you Caffrey or how do you want us to refer to you?"

Shrugging. "Professionally, as long as I am supposed to be Caffrey, I'm Caffrey in public and the office. Otherwise, call me whatever name you're most comfortable with. I have gone by more names than I care to recall, so I am flexible about what I go by. Just keep with whatever name you want me to respond to or I may not know if you're yelling at me or the person behind me." I finished with a wink that had Diana smirking in response.

The conversation continued for a little while before Diana and Jones decided to call it an evening and left. We were all relieved that we had been able to have a semi normal conversation, something that had been lacking since before I had been abducted.

As I was moving to follow them out, Peter stopped me again. "Neal, El wanted me to ask you and Jack over for dinner. She hasn't gotten to see the two of you together yet and really wants too."

With my mischievous look back in place, "I get the feeling this is a great opportunity to start, don't you Jack? We could give her the full affect, and Peter… sorry, but no warning her."

Jack looked at me like the kid who just got his first glimpse into the candy store while Peter just looked like he was trying to keep up the "I'm tired" façade instead of grinning in amusement.

Jerking my head, to indicate for Jack to follow me, I walked out the door. Looking over my shoulder, I grinned at Peter and told him that we'd meet him at his place when we were ready.

As Jack and I walked through the office, my mischievous grin was dominating my features and the eyes of my coworkers followed us with curiosity.

When we arrived at June's, I introduced Jack to June and told her we would talk more later but we had to get ready to go to see El. Peter had invited us over for dinner so that El could see the two of us together and we wanted to take a shot at playing up our twins status for the first time.

June told us to see her before we left and she would be our test subject.

Grinning at Jack, I led him (practically running) up the stairs. When we got to my apartment I hurried to the closet and stared compiling two outfits that were as close to identical as I had available. Back in my room, Jack grinned at me when I held out two matching outfits to him.

After we had changed, we stood in from of a large mirror that June had brought up so that we could make sure we got our hair matching. Then, we practiced sounding and moving alike until we felt that we had it down well enough for a first run.

Walking down the broad stair case, we practiced talking like each other until we got to the bottom. June was waiting for us and we walked up to her. Each of us greeted her, and then we stood back and waited for her to tell us which was which. Although she guessed right, we were thrilled that it took her a few minutes to be sure.

Arriving at the Burkes, we walked up to the door and stood side by side before we rang the bell.

Peter opened the door and blinked at us. As he stood looking from one to the other, we enjoyed the look of confusion that was spread on his face. Since we didn't say anything and we simply stood their looking back at him, he had no idea who was who. He gave us that tired look, rolled his eyes, and shook his head as he waved us in. "El, they're here."

El came running to meet us only to stop short when she saw us. She covered her mouth as she laughed at us and stood looking back and forth between us. "Peter… which one is which?"

Sighing in tired amusement. "I have no idea El, they haven't said a word or done enough for me to be able to tell the difference. They are off to a great start at their 'mess with the bad guys' idea though."

I asked Jack, "Should we tell them?"

He gleefully responded, "Nope, I'm enjoying watching them stew."

"Neal." Peter scolded Jack.

Jack and I grinned as he had scolded with the wrong name.

Deciding that the game could go on all evening, El called us all to dinner.

The table was set with Peter and El a crossed from each other on one end, while Jack and I were a crossed from each other on the other end. I was seated by El, as it was the first seat that I came to, but there was a place marker for Jack (that I disregarded).

Over the course of the meal, Peter and El talked to us like I was Jack and he was me.

The game ended when my phone went off as Chuck called me.

When I got up and said that I had to take the call, as it was Chuck and likely to be about my papers, I couldn't help but briefly laugh at Peter's and El's faces as they realized that we had been backwards the entire time.

Jack looked like he was getting a childhood dream come true, but then I thought, he probably was.

Stepping out the back door for privacy, I answered Chuck's call.

When we finished talking, I walked back in to talk with the others.

Peter was the first to speak, "So, what did he have to say?"

Looking at Jack I answered. "Chuck told me that he has my papers. Tomorrow he is bringing in his team to meet with the rest of us, and we are to gang up on our next opponents. First Jack, he has read my papers, like I asked him too, and he said that Dylan and Jack were our first wit-sec names. Even my papers don't show my real name. Second, our biological father is apparently a rapist killer who has been trying to kill me since he found out that there was genetic proof to prove his rapist history. Peter, that kill squad from when I was ten, it turns out that it was led by my step father, Bennett. Finally, our next opponents that we are to gang up and go after also turns out to be bio dad and step dad… number one."

That was enough for them all to stop and stare at me. Then there was a unanimous "Number one?"

Looking sheepishly at them, "Well, since we'll be talking about the case at the office tomorrow, we might as well start on the filling in the blanks part tonight."

Sitting back down, I got started. (To Jack). "For one thing, we have a half baby sister that is still somewhere in wit-sec…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for reading and to those who have taken the time to review, follow me and the story, leave kudos, and favorite this or other stories :D
> 
> I hope everybody will be back next week to see how Peter reacts to witnessing Neal commit murder ;)


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